Security Concerns of Women at Rohingya Camps in Bangladesh: An Analysis from Human Security and State Security Perspective

Forcedly Displaced People (FDP), also known as “refugees” or “migrants,” make up a significant portion of the world’s population. Refugee, migration, and security studies are frequently concerned with ‘human security’ and ‘nation-state security.’ The majority of the scholarships took into account the context of the Global North. As a result, there is a theoretical gap in the context of the Global South (GS), where the majority of FDP members live. However, there have been few attempts in the context of GS to investigate the relationship between the construction of ‘nation-state’ security and its impact on the human security of FDP people. To fill this knowledge gap, an effort is made to investigate the state of human security in Bangladeshi camps housing forcibly displaced Rohingya people. This chapter also delves into the dynamics of state security construction and its relationship to human security. However, it investigates how and to what extent the FDP’s activities pose a threat to national security. Relying on the published documents from government and non-governmental organizations, this chapter reveals that women and girls in the camps face a variety of security-related challenges, including gender-based violence, rape, forced prostitution, and a lack of freedom of movement. Bangladesh, as the host country, has been less successful in meeting the challenges. However, non-state actors are less successful in ensuring the protection of women and girls because men are less involved in these activities. Rohingya influx in Bangladesh exacerbated security challenges in Bangladesh, including ‘night government,’ human trafficking and sex trade, environmental insecurity, public health challenges, and so on. Finally, it should be noted that the GoB imposed some restrictions that hampered the FDP’s access to basic rights in order to ensure national security. On the contrary, with its (Bangladesh) security threats, Rohingya camp-based activities add new dimensions.